Juan MartinezHotSchedulesIf you run a restaurant, need real-time metrics, or have a predominately mobile-centric workforce, then HotSchedules is one to consider, though there are definite tradeoffs including a user interface (UI) that can take some getting used to.

HotSchedules' scheduler is its crowning achievement, along with good mobile apps for workers who prefer to use their phones to manage their work life. One of the only vendors with real-time, integrated reports on labor budgets, costs, and other metrics. Available with a suite of add-on software tailored to restaurant and hospitality businesses.

Cons

Some parts of the UI aren't as fresh or as well-organized as others. Lacks a free trial. Pricing isn't published. Its mobile apps aren't free. Initial setup requires keying in personnel data, pulling it from other software, or sharing files with the company to upload on your behalf.

Bottom Line

If you run a restaurant, need real-time metrics, or have a predominately mobile-centric workforce, then HotSchedules is one to consider, though there are definite tradeoffs including a user interface (UI) that can take some getting used to.

HotSchedules gets a lot of things right. This employee scheduling and shift planning software (which begins at $40 per month for one location and up to 30 users) has a lot going for it. For example, it gives employees some say over their schedules, has fully functional mobile applications, and offers an abundance of reports. But it gets some things wrong, too, including the fact that parts of the desktop version's user interface (UI) look dated as compared to the fresher UIs of competitors such as Editors' Choice winner Deputy. That, plus the lack of a free trial and the absence of published information on additional pricing tiers, is enough to keep HotSchedules from climbing to the top of our ratings in this roundup.

Similar Products

Another important point to consider is that HotSchedules grew out of the restaurant business and many of its features are tailored to that industry. This fact has helped it snag large customers such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Centertwist (Auntie Anne's), Famous Dave's, and Sonic. The scheduling module, which the company recently rebuilt on a new platform with an open application programming interface (API), is part of HotSchedules' restaurant management suite, which includes other individual modules including back-office operations and inventory management. Company representatives say the software is used in other industries as well, including hospitality, gaming, and sports management. But customers outside the restaurant vertical will want to carefully evaluate it to make sure it will meet their particular needs.

No Free Mobile Apps

The top of HotSchedules' home screen displays a horizontal main menu decked out in the company's trademark lime green. Depending on their access level, managers, schedulers, or system administrators see tabs for Home, Settings, Messaging, Staff, Scheduling, Logbook, and Reporting. Employees see only Home, Settings, Messages, Staff, and Logbook. What the website looks like is important because, even though HotSchedules has Android and iOS apps, they're not free. Employees or their employers must pay $2.99 to download them from iTunes or Google Play. With price being a barrier to adoption, many employees will probably opt to forego the fee and log on from the mobile-enabled website.

Once they're on the website, employees see a home screen that is divided into two vertical columns; the left one is reserved for their schedule for the next two weeks and is called "My Plate" (in homage to the platform's restaurant heritage). The "My Plate" column lists days under solid black headings, with ruled sections that indicate shifts. Any shifts the employee is working show up in red. The look is faintly reminiscent of the Daytimer weekly planners I used long ago which, sorry to say, makes it look old. The right-hand column contains widgets for the worker's profile, videos, private and group messages, and polls. The cumulative result is a home screen that's relatively cluttered as compared to the sleek, minimalist style of competitors such as When I Work or ZoomShift. HotSchedules recently updated its UI to address some of these shortcomings, including adding a new Personal Settings form on which employees can maintain their info and update availability.

Whether they're on the website or on the mobile app, from the home screen it's relatively simple for employees to pick up or release shifts, request time off, set their availability, edit their profile, and set up how they want to receive work-related notifications. For the latter, from the website, any user can go to Settings > Preferences > User Preferences, and mark or unmark check boxes to receive email notifications of schedule updates, shift changes, manager approvals, and other messages. They can also opt to link shift information to their Google Calendar. The platform includes a Messaging channel that serves as an in-platform communications app for sending and receiving individual or group messages. All employees can access the Staff tab to look up coworkers' contact information.

A Focus on Scheduling

As with other shift scheduling software, HotSchedules' raison d'etre is scheduling and this is where the platform shines. The Scheduling tab opens to the familiar weekly calendar grid on which you can filter what you see by location, job, or time of day. A list of employees runs down the left-hand side and days appear in columns across the grid. To create a shift, double-click a day on which an employee isn't already working to open a pop-up "Add Shift" window. In this window, you can fill in information, including the shift's start and stop times, jobs, and location, and then click "Save" when you're ready to add it to the grid.

All in all, it's pretty perfunctory stuff, though there are a handful of standout features. For example, on the grid, the times an employee is unavailable for work—perhaps they're in school or on vacation—show up in lighter grey as a reminder. If you forget and schedule a shift at a time when an employee can't work, then it will trigger a "Schedule Warnings" alert that will appear next to their name as a red dot, with a number inside corresponding to the total number of problems with their shifts. Fix the problems and the number decreases and, eventually, the red dot goes away. "Schedule Warnings" are especially handy for small businesses that want to avoid paying overtime or limit part-time workers' hours so they don't run afoul of Affordable Care Act regulations concerning healthcare benefits. The company recently added a generic export for MYOB accounting software. The company also now supports Timecard Export.

One of its best features is its Reports, which run across the bottom of the Scheduling screen. Click "Schedule Summary, Labor Budget, or Labor Volume" to open up that report; you'll see how people you're adding to shifts will affect budgeted labor costs. Reports can be displayed as spreadsheets or as bar charts. The platform has dozens of other reports in the Reporting tab, putting it in league with Humanity for offering the most scheduling-related reports.

However, HotSchedules' scheduling function has yet more aces up its sleeve. Schedulers can use Scheduling > Tools to access a handful of schedule-building shortcuts, including copying existing schedules, saving common shifts as reusable shift templates, and converting existing shifts to open or "House Shifts" that any qualified worker can grab. The Scheduling > Tools > Auto-Schedule function could be best of all. A scheduler can pick the location, number of hours they want covered, and skill level they want employees to have. They then click "Generate Schedule" to let the system do the work of deciding who works when. That's my kind of schedule builder.

Getting Started

Because HotSchedules grew up in the restaurant business, it's integrated with many popular time and attendance software and Point-of-Sale (POS) systems, which is how the platform gets sales data for some of its reports. However, it also means new accounts have to either upload employee data from their POS software or manually key it in as there's no self-serve way to upload existing personnel data from Microsoft Excel. As an alternative, HotSchedules will upload employee data from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for a new client as part of the onboarding process.

Typical of its restaurant orientation, the HotSchedules platform costs $49 per month for one location and up to 30 users, including managers, schedulers, and employees. Pricewise, that puts it in the middle of the pack: less than Deputy or ZoomShift but more than Humanity and When I Work. Discounts are available for multi-unit operations or for signing up for bundled services. As part of its restaurant management suite, HotSchedules also has modules for training and employee referrals for job candidates. A company spokesperson declined to share additional cost information but said a pricing review is underway. HotSchedules also diverges from what has become the norm for shift scheduling and many other cloud-based HR tech vendors by not offering a free trial, though the company rep said that's also in the works.

Given its background, it's no surprise that a lot of what HotSchedules offers caters to the restaurant business. But the platform is flexible enough for other industries as well. If you can live without a free trial and free mobile apps, then it provides solid scheduling tools and a Reports function that outshines most of its rivals.

HotSchedules

Bottom Line: If you run a restaurant, need real-time metrics, or have a predominately mobile-centric workforce, then HotSchedules is one to consider, though there are definite tradeoffs including a user interface (UI) that can take some getting used to.

Michelle V. Rafter covers employment and workplace issues, Human Resources technology, and other business topics for consumer and B2B publications. She has lived in Portland, Oregon since way before it turned into Portlandia. She can be followed on Twitter @MichelleRafter and reached at michellerafter@comcast.net.

HotSchedules

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